Wants and Needs: an Inquiry on the Nature of Roleplaying

[tex]

What a pretentious and overbearing title.

Role-playing is a practice in futility, I think. My never ending search for stories that see an ultimate end is constantly met with pitfalls and roadblocks. Most role-plays die out before even reaching a single significant plot point, and those that don't, typically slow down immensely and burn out into passionless embers.

Despite that however, there are plenty of people who just live in the moment. A hedonistic desire to fill out their wildest fantasies, or see their small-scale goals come to fruition. I'm guilty of this too. After all, it's called role-playing, not Role-cohesive-plot-analysis-and-subsequent-story-fulfillment. I think the fun of it really does just come from those moments when the pieces align. Most Role-plays are poorly thought out, but in that unstructured chaos, we find times where our characters feel like they're jutting from the words and grabbing at our hearts. Moments when our terribly fragmented cooperation links together into a beautiful fractal of radical catharsis.

It's hard to describe those moments, but to simplify, they're just like...

Whoosh

Bam

Pow

Y'know?

Anyways, on to the point, or rather, question I'm meant to pose.

What part of your Role-playing experience fulfills you the most? Which decisions, or encounters, give you those sick tingly feelings along the back of your wrists? What are you always looking for when you step into your character's shoes?

Feel free to elaborate while I constantly fret over the asinine nature of English grammar.

[stone]

I'm half considering (jokingly) just giving up RP and writing stories instead. The only thing keeping me here is that I still want to be surprised by others– their plots, characters, interactions. Plotting it out yourself just isn't quite the same, you know?

[tex]

@stone

I completely get that. When another player comes up with something that resonates with you unexpectedly, it's inspiring, and just downright entertaining to be involved with. I've taken many breaks from role playing, and stuck with writing stories on my own, but the sensation just isn't the same. There's nothing quite like being part of something with somebody else, and it's not the same feeling as simply collaborating in writing a story. That unexpected flair that comes with actually interacting with other players is unmatched.

[Zyshi]

@tex Same. I am here for interaction and inspiration - even the little ones which result in a nifty new character. It's like sex vs. masturbation - the insertion of another person into the activity can exponentially increase one's enjoyment of the act*.

*Sometimes.

[pugbutter]

The scenes which always floor me are the ones which make me sympathize for fictitious people. Negative emotions especially, where I hate a cruel character, and pity his victims, and regret the decisions they have made which I, the omniscient reader, know will turn out badly; these drive me up the wall in the best way. And it's like, how can you know a story is completely made-up and fake but still invest emotions in it anyway, you know? But that's the hallmark of great fiction. You care despite knowing, on some objective level, that it's a waste of emotional energy feeling sorry for people whose lives and whose pain aren't even real, because these fake people and fake events feel just as human as you are.

[Shovel]

I think the most self-fulfilling part of Roleplaying is about writing and the feeling associated with said action. Like most of the time, I feel what I write is pretty shitty while others are just outright on a different level. I do understand that this notion of thinking probably derived from a lack of self-confidence. But, once every a blue moon, out of nowhere, I just wrote so well, not even my role model's post can topple what I just regurgitate after a losing game. And I feel good you know. Knowing what you are capable of, that put a smile on my face.

[GeekFactor]

What part of your Role-playing experience fulfills you the most? Which decisions, or encounters, give you those sick tingly feelings along the back of your wrists? What are you always looking for when you step into your character's shoes?

@tex

Those moments where I encounter another player with a mastery of the English language (poor spelling, grammar, etc, are instant mood killers), and the slightly more intangible talent of creating a compelling story that pulls me in and intrigues me. It's not enough to simply be a 'good writer' in the technical sense. I've read plenty of RP that had perfect spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The sentences were well laid out. The writing had a decent flow. The vocabulary was admirable. But there was still something missing. I just felt zero interest for what I was reading. I didn't give two flips about the character or the plot. I was bored.

The rare and surreal times where I run into a character that meets all of the criteria for 'good' writing, AND that can snag and hold my interest, and make me feel compelled to shift my own creative juices into second gear... that's the worthwhile stuff. There's an indefinable magic that occurs, when you suddenly find yourself thinking "WOW...this is good RP..." and you can't wait for the next emote/post. Your own character suddenly feels alive and real, and the plot is taking on a life of its own. You're no longer steering it, you're along for the ride, sitting back in breathless, wide-eyed astonishment as the story runs away to an unknown destination. Cherish those moments and treat those RPers with the utmost respect and value, because they come along all too infrequently.

[Archetype Zero]

It is difficult to adequately describe why I continue to roleplay when, in actuality, the things that drove me before no longer mean much for me as a writer or participant. Objectively. If I were to reflect, then I would suppose that what fulfills me now is the here-to unobtained sense of nostalgia I desire; a theoretical state in which I experience a satisfaction or accomplishment much aligned with those I 'lived' when I started roleplaying.

Excellent plot or masterful linguistic artistry no longer influence my sense of 'enjoyment,' neither does character dynamics or story twists. But I roleplay because I am aimlessly seeking for those things to inspire and interest me again. Like they used to do.

Much of this, I surmise, is largely due to my personal development, or regression depending on your perspective. But I keep going because I find solace in the goal I aspire to arrive at.

[rebornfan320]

The part of my role-playing experience that fulfills me the most is the interaction and the inspirations that come from two minds. The possibilities that can come from this and also two characters interacting with them as everything just comes together as a whole.
When something resonates with people it is in fact a feel good moment for me in the mind and heart.

I have taken a break from roleplaying but I don't think I should have from a results standpoint, one could ask questions on if you're at the story point or not since it is a roleplayer kind of decision as another person sharing the same thing is on that level of “Yes!” or “Glad there is someone out there with the same interest.” I roleplay for the inspire and interest feel, more on the accomplishment level of the same interests when I started roleplaying.

[Majora]

When the trifecta of writing quality, mental vision and in-context achievement make something that stands out. I can decently carry one and even two at any given time, but there are always flaws. The best I can expect is nailing it fully on one or two. All three is a moment that goes beyond the magical unicorn of satisfying conclusion to a long term roleplay. I've had those, but I don't anticipate them. Instead I get little kicks from episodic or 'scene by scene' plays that strive against bogging down in something people aren't mutually interested in.